PROJECT 06
PROJECT 06
Overview
Scientists at a large pharmaceutical organization relied on this platform to search years of experimental data and lab notebooks. Inconsistent search behavior, buried help resources, and an unclear access request process left users working around the tool rather than with it. I joined as the lead designer responsible for both ongoing maintenance and a broader redesign effort.
IMPACT & METRICS
Issues identified across usability, accessibility, navigation, and design system compliance
Of identified issues addressed in the redesign
Participants were aware filtering options existed before usability testing
Search modes designed, giving users keyword and conversational paths to find data
DESIGN PROCESS
When I joined the team, the platform was already in active use by scientists searching for historical experimental data and lab notebooks. The team was simultaneously onboarding a new data source, which left limited sprint capacity for a full redesign. I started by exploring the platform firsthand, mapping the user journey and documenting every friction point I encountered. From inconsistent search behavior to buried help resources, the audit gave me a clear picture of where the experience was breaking down before any formal research began.
The most critical issue I found was a fundamental search inconsistency. A scientist who typed a query and pressed enter landed in a completely different state than one who typed the exact same thing and selected it from the suggested results. Same words, different outcomes. Beyond search, help documentation looked like page content rather than navigation, a report a problem link disappeared within seconds of loading results, and scientists who hit access restrictions on highly secured data had no clear path forward. They were resolving it through personal networks instead of a defined process. I brought these findings to the team and recommended a formal usability study to validate them.
A moderated usability study with seven scientists confirmed what the audit had surfaced. The platform's SUS score of 71.01 reflected a tool that functioned but fell short of the clarity and predictability scientists needed to rely on it. While the engineering team worked through their development-focused sprints, I used that time to get ahead on design. The team initially wanted to address only the low-hanging fruit within the existing system, but I worked within their timeline to help them understand the value of a fuller redesign, one that also aligned to the company's broader direction requiring all platforms to adopt the enterprise design system. During this phase I also facilitated a metrics workshop with the team to align on what data points needed to be built into the platform so stakeholders would have visibility into user behavior once it went live.
Help resources including FAQ, change log, and report a problem were consolidated into the navigation so they were always visible and clearly distinct from content. The search experience was normalized so any search method produced consistent results, regardless of how the query was entered. I designed a step-by-step access request flow for scientists encountering restricted data, removing the guesswork from a process they had previously navigated through colleagues. White space was reorganized to reduce visual clutter and give the interface room to breathe. Filters were repositioned to appear naturally within the user journey rather than as an afterthought, making them more discoverable and easier to connect to the search experience. I also designed the UX for a new conversational search layer, working directly with the development team to make sure the filters I built helped users move through data without unnecessarily narrowing their results.
One of the most valuable moments in this project was watching the usability study validate the initial audit. It reinforced the importance of doing your own exploratory work before research begins, not to replace it, but to make sure the right questions are being asked. Working within sprint constraints also sharpened my ability to advocate for the user while staying realistic about what the team could take on at any given time. The redesign laid the groundwork for a more scalable, trustworthy search experience as the platform continues to grow.
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